Condoleezza Rice Film Screening and Public Forum – April 10th

A screening of the award-winning film: American Faust: from Condi to Neo-Condi--discussion to follow-- will be held at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus, in Nicholson Hall, room 155, on Thursday April 10th at 7pm.We will begin by showing the film (trailer here) and end with a public discussion led by author Antonia Felix, one of Rice's main biographers featured in the film.

On April 17th, the University of Minnesota will be honoring Dr. Rice with a prominent public forum.If this were instead an opportunity to seek some accountability for her conduct as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, the anti-war community would be the first to say "let her speak."But the lecture Rice will be giving will not be about accountability; she talking about civil rights.

And that is the problem: we’re expected to treat her conduct in government as something that just happens to be true of her, not something that needs to be addressed– not something she needs to answer for– but an incidental detail.

Planning and ordering of torture is a jus cogens crime of the highest magnitude under both domestic and international law.Some believe officials in the George W. Bush administration should be investigated for this crime as well as other crimes.Among these officials of course is Condoleezza Rice.

When our government refuses to hold its officials accountable for crimes committed in our names, the responsibility falls on us.If these individuals are in fact not guilty, then they have nothing to hide.If however they are, it is then up to the American people to bring them to justice.

Those of us who object to Dr. Rice's upcoming appearance at the University of Minnesota have invited her to engage with us while she is here. That invitation went unanswered.In lieu of this we will be hosting a public conversation with the biographer Antonia Felix, the author of “Condi: The Condoleezza Rice Story,” the first biography written about Rice.

To stimulate conversation we will also be showing this documentary about the life of Condoleezza Rice, and her role in the Bush Administration. This event will serve as an opportunity to engage in a critical discussion about Rice's conduct, and the University of Minnesota's decision to offer her a platform– but only if all views are represented.For that reason we are extending an invitation to the general public.

The film screening and forum will be held at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus, in Nicholson Hall, room 155, on Thursday April 10th at 7pm.We will begin by showing “American Faust: Condi to Neo-Condi,” and end with a public discussion.